


Spark from Notalee

by Okapifarms



Category: Magic: The Gathering (Card Game)
Genre: Magic: the Gathering - Freeform, Other, Planeswalker, Spark from Notalee, Tarkir, planeswalkers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 19:31:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20729585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okapifarms/pseuds/Okapifarms
Summary: The origin story of the Planeswalker, Erdan Holimion.





	Spark from Notalee

Spark From Notalee  
The sound of curtains being pulled apart woke Erdan from his slumber. He had to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight. In the haze of morning drowsiness, he heard a familiar voice call out to him. The voice was older, it had an air of wisdom and understanding when it spoke.  
“Wake up, Erdan. Be in the courtyard in 15 minutes.” The man then flipped over a marked hourglass, and sand started to fall.  
“Don’t be late”  
With that, the man left the room.  
Erdan rose from his bed, and got dressed in his uniform, which consisted of a thick wool shirt that was colored light blue. Erdan looked at the hourglass. “10 minutes left, I still have time”  
Erdan peered out the window. He took a breath as he looked across the wide valley. The sun was rising over the snow capped Pema mountain range, coloring the snow and the sky a magnificent shade of orange. The air was cold and still. This small secluded valley was the only place he had ever known. There was no other place for him to go. He looked at the timepiece again. Five minutes left.  
“I’d better get to the courtyard”  
Erdan went down the stairs and out of his tower. On his way to the courtyard. He remembered not to run, as he had gotten stern lectures about running from the older monks. He went from path to path, building to building, until he arrived to the courtyard. He saw him, his master. The figure stood, motionless, silent, but still powerful and ancient. He had his eyes closed, seemingly focused on his breathing, or the serenity of the stillness of the air, Erdan couldn’t tell. Suddenly, he spoke, eyes still closed. “You’re late, Erdan,”  
“I’m sorry, Master. I lost track of time”  
“Daydreaming again?” the man opened his eyes. “I’ve told you again and again that daydreaming can slow the progress of achieving goals.”  
“I know Master. I will clear my mind after today’s lesson.”  
“Yes, about that, Erdan. Today’s lesson is canceled, but you still have a duty today. Come with me.”  
What could possibly be going on? What could be causing the lesson to be canceled? With a confused expression, Erdan joined the side of his master. They walked through the gardens, and eventually got to the entrance of the monastery. Erdan stopped.  
“What is it Erdan?” asked his master.  
“It’s just that I was never allowed near the gate; let alone to leave.”  
“I see, nevermind what the other monks say, I’m giving you permission to leave under my supervision. Now, follow me,”.  
The pair walked through the vast valley that resided in between the legion of mountains. The partners headed towards the tallest mountain, which towered over the others, as if it was trying to skewer the sun in place. The two walked in silence for what seemed like ages. Suddenly, Erdan’s master spoke, this time, there was a hint of sorrow behind the voice.  
“Erdan, I know you’re wondering where I am taking you”  
Erdan stayed silent. He was shaken by the sudden melancholy tone that took the place of the voice of certainty that his master usually had.  
“Well, you will be pleased to know that today, you will go through a trial of strength and mind. If you succeed, you will take my place as the overseer of this land.” Erdan was shocked at this aspect. Surely there was someone else who was more suited to watch over the monastery.  
“Master, I’m not sure I understand. Why me? There has to be someone else that would do a better job than me.”  
“I understand your confusion, but you have to trust my faith in you. I’ve known you for the 20 years you’ve been here. I trust you more than anyone else here. Now, it is time for the trial of strength to begin”  
The conversation distracted Erdan so much that he didn’t notice that they were now near the top of the mountain. There was something on the side of the mountain that Erdan didn’t expect; a courtyard, similar to the one back in the monastery. However, this one was slightly different. It had a similar looking stonework, with smooth white and grey stones, but there were bricks that were laid out in such a way that it made a giant circle that was no less than 30 feet across. There were small plants and weeds growing in between the cracks in the stonework. Clearly this place hasn’t been visited in a long time. While taking in the surroundings, Erdan heard his Master speak from the center of the circle.  
“Come Erdan, stand facing me.”  
Erdan obeyed. He stood, standing towards his master, not knowing what would happen next. To Erdan’s surprise, his master bowed, so Erdan returned the favor. When Erdan looked up, he saw his master’s expression change drastically. It went from one of uncertainty to one of earnest. Erdan was taken aback. This was the first time he had ever seen his master like this.  
“Before you can take my place, prove to me that you have the strength to defend this place.”  
With those words, Erdan’s master shifted to a fighting stance so quickly, it looked almost instantaneous. He still had the stoic expression on his face. Nervously, Erdan shifted into his stance with a deep breath. He had faced his master in the past, but that was different. That was sparing, never has there been something on the line. Neither of them spoke, the only noise was the loud howling of the wind on the mountains.  
Erdan’s master dashed towards him at a frightening speed. Erdan was just fast enough to block the fist that would have struck him in the center of his chest. As quickly the fist came at him, the same fist was right back where it was before the strike. Despite his Master’s old age, he was still surprisingly agile. Immediately, Erdan’s master swung his leg at a rapid speed, again, Erdan was just able to block the kick that would have smashed into the side of his head with his arm. There was an immediate thud where Erdan’s arm met his Master's leg. There was a sharp pain deep in his forearm. Not broken, but bruised at the very least. Erdan’s Master did not relent with the flurry of punches and kicks. All Erdan could do was dodge and block until he found an opening. The pain in his right arm was still sharp and intense, distracting him from the task at hand. How could he find an opening in something that could move faster than he could react?  
Erdan’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loss of balance as he felt a strong force scoop his legs out from underneath him. The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back. Looking up, he saw his master’s fist rising, about to start flying towards his stomach. Then, he saw it, an opening. Erdan kicked his master’s legs out from beneath him. Instead of falling like Erdan had intended, he leaned backwards and placed his hands on the ground and flipped backwards, it wasn’t much, but it was the distraction that Erdan needed to get up and lunge at his master.  
Even though Erdan exploited his master’s distraction, his master was still quick, and appeared to be dodging Erdan’s own punches and kicks with relative ease. Even when he utilized an opening, his master’s defenses and reflexes were too fast. More than once Erdan’s fists come close to hitting their target. This went on, Erdan launched his fists at his Master, when without warning, Erdan found his fist caught in the mighty palm of his master. He tried to pull his fist free from his master’s grasp, but as he tried, he felt a strong blow being delivered to his stomach as he was launched away from his master. Erdan laid on the ground with the wind blowing over him. His will to fight back was knocked out of him with his breath. Everything ached, all parts of his body saturated in deep pain. Despite the physical torment his body was in, Erdan found the strength to stand up. His legs were shaking, arms weak, and the inside of his mouth was filled with an iron taste.  
Erdan’s master was standing there, facing him. “Do you admit defeat, Erdan?”  
Erdan wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth. “I’m not done yet, I can’t give up now,”  
Erdan suddenly felt a bizarre sensation. It wasn’t in any one location, it was all over his body. He felt reinvigorated, despite all of the pain he was in. He couldn’t give up now, he had to prove that he was strong enough to defend the monastery. Erdan once again dashed at his Master, this time, he felt faster. As he prepared to deliver his punch, he felt the crackling of electricity coursing through his arm. It wasn’t just a feeling, blue and white sparks were jumping to and from different points in his arm. Erdan felt his fist slam into the stomach of his master, and as it made contact, all the sparks flew away from his arm in a white flash and the crackling of a thunderstorm.  
Erdan felt so exhausted, that he fell to his knees. Everything happened so quickly, he didn’t even think of the target he had struck. He saw his Master on one knee with one hand clutched to the center of his abdomen whilst breathing heavily. The smell of singed flesh hung faintly in the air.  
That’s the last he saw before he passed out from exhaustion.  
When Erdan woke, the first thing he could think of was his Master. The last he saw him, he was reeling from the punch he landed. Erdan looked around frantically, hoping to catch a sight of his Master. He spotted him near the edge of the circle of stones, sitting down and facing away. Erdan recognized that he was meditating, and decided not to say anything out of respect for his concentration, surely he would finish soon.  
“Erdan, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”  
Erdan still felt tired, but that didn’t matter to him right now.  
“Never mind me. Are you alright? What happened?”  
“I am fine, Erdan. As for what happened, you succeeded. You proved to me that you were strong enough to be my successor,”  
“Master, I’m not sure I understand. What did I do? The last thing I remember is a bright flash and a painfully loud noise.”  
Erdan’s Master gestured for Erdan to sit next to him on the ground. Erdan joined him, wondering what wisdom his Master would share with him. Erdan’s master drew a pattern in the ground with a stick. The pattern was pentagonal in shape with circles at each of the points. Each circle had a symbol in it. The top point had a symbol that resembled the sun. the point to the lower right of the sun was a teardrop. Beneath that, an unsettling design that resembled the human skull. To the left, there was a ball of fire. The last design resembled a full tree.  
“You see Erdan, this world, and many like this one, are filled with mana, it is extremely powerful. Only a select few can wield the power of it. The five different kinds of mana that people can wield can each be used in different, special ways.”  
Erdan’s master pointed to the symbol depicting the tree.  
“Green mana gives life and strength, and those who wield it use it to protect life and to give strength to those who do not have it.”  
He then pointed to the picture of the sun; “White mana protects and defends order. Those who use white mana use their power to defend those who do not have the power to defend themselves,”  
Erdan’s master then pointed the stick to the drop of water. “Blue mana is the embodiment of knowledge, focus, and preservation, and people who can wield it use it to preserve knowledge and culture while pushing everyone around them to new heights,”  
“Black mana is the energy of power and self interest. Those who embrace its power often go to extreme lengths to get the power they want ,”  
Finally, his Master pointed to the fireball in the sand. “Red mana is emotional and chaotic, those who harness red mana are often determined, and will keep fighting for what they think is right, for better or for worse,”  
“Why are you telling me this?”  
“In our fight, you harnessed the power of the red mana. You need to learn how to control its power, for it is raw, untempered, and very powerful,”  
Erdan felt overwhelmed. He would have to learn how to control this unknown force that he had just tapped into.  
“I can only imagine how all of this feels, now is not the time to dwell on such thoughts however, you have to continue through to the Trial of the Mind,”  
With those words, Erdan’s Master stood up and walked through the circle and to a staircase that led up and around the side of the mountain. At the top of the grey stone stairs was a door. The door was a much darker shade of grey than the surrounding stone. The door had a giant iron bar stretching across the width of the door. Erdan’s Master grasped the bar and firmly pushed the door inwards. The door opened with some resistance as the heavy stone grinded with the floor. Through the door, Erdan could only see darkness. Erdan saw his master walk in through the door, beckoning him to follow. Erdan followed with a feeling that was equal parts trust and fear.  
The inside of the hallway was eerily quiet. The only sounds that accompanied the pair was the echoing footsteps on the cold floor. Though they were walking through the dark, Erdan’s eyes began to adjust to the low levels of light. They approached a chamber that looked about 15 feet across. It was cold and was devoid of any emotion. The walls of the room were rough and almost looked like they were hastily dug. Out of the darkness, Erdan heard his master speak.  
“Erdan, you are now going to begin the Trial of the Mind. All I want you to do is to sit in the center of the room, and just meditate,”  
Erdan did what his master told him to do, he sat down in the center of the strange room with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes and started to fall into a trance where he began to focus on his breathing. Erdan was only just able to hear his Master from within the darkness.  
“I cannot be with you as you go through this trial, Erdan. I will be outside,”  
Erdan was then alone in the darkness, breathing. Inhale, exhale, repeat. The inside of the chamber was deathly quiet, quiet enough that Erdan could hear his own heartbeat within his chest. He waited in the darkness, for something, anything, that could break the deafening silence. After sitting for what seemed like an eternity, Erdan felt strange. It was a feeling of weightlessness. Erdan opened his eyes, still dark. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw a faint light. Curious, he tried to move, only to find himself not sitting, or standing. He felt no contact with any surfaces. The light seemed to be moving towards him slowly. As it came closer, Erdan saw sunlight, but there was something else, wisps of fog slowly began rolling towards him, completely filling his vision with sky blue fog.  
The fog rushed past him as if it was blowing through him. The motion stopped, and his vision cleared. He saw himself, except he looked much older. He was in a place that he did not know, there were buildings and people all around him. he was in a town. There were men, women, and few children. He saw his body start to glow a bright white light. People saw and tried to run away, but there was a sudden explosion of light accompanied by a deafening blast. When the smoke cleared, and the dust settled, there was utter destruction. Buildings were brought to the ground by the blast. Amidst the destruction, charred bodies, dozens, maybe hundreds. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. At the epicenter of the blast, Erdan saw himself, still alive and unscathed. He realized, this cycle of death and destruction would not stop. Erdan’s vision once again became obscured by sky blue smoke. This time, he found himself in darkness. Now he could feel the cold stone floor underneath him. There was an unbearable pain in his head. It felt like someone was trying to drill into his mind. Through the pain, Erdan felt an overwhelming power, one that was not of his own. It felt like he was being pulled from the world itself. This feeling was all encompassing. It quivered in every fiber of his being. In pain, he curled up on the ground and closed his eyes, clutching his head, trying to dull the pain. He heard the crackling of electricity all around his body, getting louder and louder before complete silence. He opened his eyes and saw something that nearly broke his mind upon opening. He saw lights, hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of lights all flying past him faster than he could process them, all of them were different colors, some even being colors that Erdan didn’t think he could see, everything got brighter and brighter as everything faded to white. The pain from before went away almost as quickly as it came.  
As soon as Erdan had come to his senses, he noticed something was immediately arye. Standing up, he saw sand all around him, extending for miles. Erdan felt a heat, an oppressive heat that beat down from the twin suns in the sky. Erdan scanned the horizon, searching for anything that resembled civilization. That’s when he saw them, a gigantic pair of horns with a strange symmetry to them. They nearly formed a diamond in between them, jutting upwards to a point directly above from where the horns emerged from the ground. The horns glimmered in the sun, as if they were made of gold.  
“What is this place, and how did I get here?”  
Erdan suddenly remembered tales that his master had told him. Tales of powerful beings that could travel between planes of existence. He called such beings “Planeswalkers”. That answered one question, but there were still many he still had. Erdan started to head towards the ominous horns in the distance, maybe he could find answers to the several questions he had.  
Erdan walked towards the horns for hours with the suns scorching the air. Every minute in the barren land felt like an eternity. As he was walking towards the horns, he heard a voice. The voice was deep, commanding, and intimidating.  
“You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” the voice said.  
Erdan looked around to find no one, Was the heat making him hallucinate? Erdan tried ignoring the voice, but it persisted.  
“I know that you can hear me” said the voice in a condescending tone,  
Erdan looked around him once again, no one.  
“Who’s there?”, Erdan asked out loud.  
“Hmm, yes...I sense great fear in you, Planeswalker”,  
Erdan started searching for the source of the voice frantically.  
“Do not worry, you are headed the right way”, the voice said in a comforting manner.  
“Who are you?”, Erdan asked out loud.  
The voice did not answer back. Maybe he was hallucinating, but the voice, it sounded so sure. Maybe he wasn’t hallucinating. With the voices last words ringing in his mind, Erdan continued forward towards the horns.  
Erdan continued, every step continuing to drain his strength. The harsh sun sapped away at him more and more. Erdan’s vision started to blur, and his legs started to give out from underneath him. He fell facedown into the scorching sand. Every part of his body was sore, even his bones seemed to ache. Erdan tried to stand up, but to no avail. He fell back down into the sand, breathing heavily. Erdan looked towards the enormous horns once again, there were several objects circling the horns near the base, though too far away to be able to discern any sort of shape from them. Erdan’s vision began to fade into nothingness, the horns still shining in the distance.  
In the darkness of unconsciousness, Erdan felt something poking at his back. It was spread out throughout his back, but started to get more focused as Erdan started to wake up. He tried to move, but no part of his body responded, not his arms, his legs, or even his head. The only thing that his body was able to do was produce a small groan into the sand. Afterwards, Erdan heard voices. It wasn’t clear what the voices were saying, Erdan’s brain was too exhausted to understand anything at this point. The voices suddenly stopped, and Erdan felt his body move, and he was staring upwards at the sky. The sunlight burned his eyes for a moment, but the sunlight was immediately blocked by a figure, one that was unfamiliar to Erdan. The figure had a human torso, muscular and tan. Erdan tried to look at its face, only to be met with a head that Erdan only knew as bird like. From his back emerged a pair of wings that almost blended in with the sand, reaching a white as it reached the bottom It carried a spear whose point resembled the glimmering horns on the horizon. The figure knelt down beside Erdan, and laid its hand on Erdan’s chest as it muttered words that Erdan could not understand. A white light emanated from the stranger's hand, and Erdan felt a rush of energy wash over his body.  
“There, now answer my question,” the bird headed figure asked, agitated.  
Erdan was confused, he suddenly felt fine, like all of his strength returned to him in that instant. Erdan stood up.  
“What was the question? I didn’t hear it,” Erdan asked.  
“Is your name Erdan?”  
“Yes, I am”, Erdan said in a confused tone.  
The bird man gestured for Erdan to follow him.  
Erdan and the stranger walked towards the horns. Erdan still had many questions, Maybe this strange person could help answer some of them.  
“So, how did you know my name?”, questioned Erdan  
“I was told to retrieve you”  
Erdan was confused. He knew no one here, he didn’t even know where he was.  
“Who told you to retrieve me?”  
“No one knows his true name, he only goes by The Horned One”  
“The Horned One?”  
“Yes, earlier today, he told me to search for a person named Erdan, and to search the Semut desert.”  
“Is that where we are now?”  
“Yes, but don’t worry, we’ll be at Naktamun soon.”  
The bird-headed man pointed towards the giant horns, which were much closer now. Now that he was closer, Erdan could see that the sand was shifting near the base of the tower, along with a slight glimmer of white light where the sand’s shifting stopped dead, as if there was a wall there.  
“Okay, you’re going to have to trust me here,” The bird headed person said.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean we have to get over the Hekma.”  
With those words, the bird-man muttered something under his breath, and a green light emanated from the center of his body, and then spread to the rest of his body before fading. He then wrapped his arms underneath Erdan’s shoulders, and Erdan could feel the ground no longer. Erdan watched as the sand drifted away from underneath him. He did his best not to look down. Despite his best efforts however, he couldn’t keep his eyes away from the ground. It was terrifying, and mesmerising, just watching the tan sand blur as they flew towards the horns.  
Some time passed, Erdan didn’t know how much, each moment seemed like an eternity flying past endless sand. All Erdan could focus on was the glimmering horns off in the distance, and the sands that and shifted against an unseen barrier. They were getting closer to the horns, and approaching fast. Only now did Erdan realize how gargantuan the horns were. Even at the height they were flying at, which couldn’t be less than several hundred feet, they weren’t even halfway up the titanic horns. As they started to fly by, Erdan could only stare in awe at the enormous golden horns, which gleamed in the light of the twin suns. Each horn couldn’t have been less than a couple hundred feet across at their widest. Beyond the horns was a sharp downwards cliff. The stone along side the cliff was resembled the color of the sand above it, except it was darker shade that more closely resembled brown than tan. Behind the cliff were multiple structures. some of them were white square pillars that came to a point, others were gigantic pyramids that matched the pillars in color that looked to be several stories tall. Each side had a bright red design that matched the shape of the horns. Now that he looked around, the same pattern could be seen everywhere on the structures. Among all of the buildings, one stood out above the others. One that towered above all of the other pyramids, it looked to be several times larger than any of the other pyramids. It had a gigantic hole near the top that was several dozen feet wide. Erdan and the Bird-man landed on the ground in front of the massive structure. There was a passageway leading into the pyramid, the entrance of which was embroidered with gold, silver, and precious gemstones. The light reflecting off of all the decorations made Erdan’s eyes hurt.  
“Wait here, I’ll go tell him you’re here,” the bird headed man said as he walked through the stone hallway, which seemed to be dimly lit by an unknown source. The man’s footsteps seemed to go completely silent, even as he continued walking. No sound was emanating from inside the pyramid, which unnerved Erdan.  
Several minutes passed before the man emerged from the pyramid.  
“Come, he awaits you”,  
Erdan hesitantly walked forwards into the hallway. The air seemed completely still and silent. Out of nowhere, Erdan heard a breathing, It was deep, long, and loud. Erdan trembled, he had no idea what to expect. What could be producing such a sound? Erdan continued through the pyramid, and soon approached a door. The door looked to be made of a combination of fine stone. The door had no visible handle on it, which took Erdan by surprise, how was he supposed to open it? As Erdan got closer to it, the sound of stone grinding on stone pierced through the air, and the door began to slowly open, letting in a sliver of almost blinding light as it did. Erdan had to cover his eyes as the door continued to open. The door stopped, and Erdan heard a voice, one that he recognized, except this time it wasn’t in his mind, it was real.  
“Enter”, boomed the voice.  
Erdan slowly continued and entered the room, the blinding light seemed to almost dissipate as soon as he entered. He saw that inside, there were trees, grass, and even small ponds inside this room. The room itself seemed to take up the entire space of the pyramid, and maybe even more. The air still felt deathly still, despite all the life in the chamber. The breathing from before seemed to be everywhere around him. Erdan turned around to see that the door shut, matching the wall behind him. He followed the wall to the ceiling, but the wall seemed to stop 50 feet above him. He backed up. He backed up several hundred feet before he saw the source of the breathing.  
The first thing Erdan noticed was the horns. The same ones that he saw all over the world, the same ones that he saw overlooking this city, except these ones seemed to have something round floating in between them, some sort of stone. Erdan’s eyes were immediately drawn down to the beast’s face, which was scaled, had a golden sheen and seemed almost serpentine shape. It’s eyes seemed to just be green orbs that dimly glowed. Just making eye contact filled Erdan with terror. The body of this beast was shaped like a man’s, but stretched vertically and covered in large golden scales. The being had Enormous bony wings that shared the same golden color as the rest of the body.The tail that whipped about every so often was long and winding. The being spoke,  
“So, you’re Erdan.”  
Erdan struggled to respond. Just being in the presence of such a creature was awe inspiring, yet terrifying.  
“I-I am”, Erdan barely choked out. “H-How do you know who I am?”  
“I created this world. There isn’t a thing that goes on here that I don’t know about, especially intruders from other worlds”  
Erdan trembled  
The beast smirked “I know your spark ignited recently, I sense it”  
Erdan’s heart raced, he could not move a muscle. The beast’s eyes glowed blue for a split second.  
“You are so afraid, aren’t you? You have no idea where you are. No idea who I am. Is that right?”, the beast asked in a condescending tone.  
Erdan nodded.  
“I-I know that they call you The Horned One.”  
“Yes, but that is not my true name”  
“W-what is your real name?” Erdan asked fearfully.  
The beast didn’t respond, it was staring at Erdan. Erdan felt a presence in his mind, it was unlike what he experienced before. It wasn’t talking to him, it was invading him. Erdan couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. It was as if the air was sucked right out of his lungs, it burned. his vision started to fade, only to snap back into focus. The presence was gone, and Erdan fell to his knees, gasping for air.  
“What did you do to me?” Erdan barely choked out.  
“I know everything about you. You, your master, your monastery, even your greatest fears. Now, I can help you to control it, but I expect something in return.”  
“What do you need?” Erdan said, getting his breath back.  
“I want your loyalty, and your servitude. In return, you will be able to masterfully control the power of red mana”  
Erdan stayed silent, he had no idea what to do.  
“Think about it, you won’t have to live in fear of destroying everything around you. Think of the innocent lives you could save by having me teach you, and all I need in return is for you to do some work for me”  
Erdan thought back to the Trial of the Mind, and what he saw. All those people, surely serving this being would be worth saving several hundred lives, possibly thousands.  
“I...I will serve you.”  
The beast smiled.  
“Good. now that you serve me, you deserve to know my true name. You will call me Master Nicol Bolas”  
Erdan bowed.  
“Yes...Master Nicol Bolas”  
“You may leave, Achoris will show you to your living quarters,” Bolas said in a soft tone.  
Erdan stood up from his bowing position, nodded silently, and walked to the stone door. It opened with the sound of grinding stone. Erdan exited the chamber and walked down the corridor of stone, hearing the breathing of Bolas all around him, only for it to go silent as he approached the exit. The fear that Erdan had left with the sound of the breathing. When he exited, the bird headed man from before was waiting outside the pyramid.  
“I am to assume that you are Achoris?” Erdan asked inquisitively.  
“Yes,” Achoris said with a bow.  
“Your quarters are right this way,” he said as he started to walk away from the pyramid  
Erdan followed as they walked by several houses that all seemed to follow the same design. One dark wooden door in the center, one window on each side of the door. Each house seemed to be made with cut stone bricks, just like his monastery, except these didn’t have as much care put into them. While each brick at home was smooth as glass, these bricks were uneven, and of different sizes. The only differences between the houses were the decorations presented by the people there, some had vases with plants that Erdan did not recognize, while others were decorated with small statues of felines. Erdan noticed a distinct lack of people in the streets.  
“Where is everyone?” Erdan asked  
“Almost everyone is preparing for the trials.”  
“The trials?”  
“Yes, the trials of the five gods.”  
“Why?”  
“For the Hours of Promise, the ones that The Horned One finds worthy will join him in the afterlife.”  
Not long after, Achoris gestured to a house, one that was different from the houses that they passed, it was larger, and this one had a wall surrounding it, with a wooden gate.  
“You’ll be staying here” Achoris said, opening the gate.  
Erdan went through the gate and entered a courtyard, it had a gray stone fountain in the center that had a square pillar that came to a point at the top that the clearest water came out of. The courtyard itself was quite large, enough to easily have 50 people stand in it. three sides of the courtyard had a small flight of stairs leading up to the house itself, which had a distinct “U” shape to it. Each side was had pillars that lead into a hallway. The hallway had pedestals with plants that Erdan had never seen before, some were flowers of bright hues, and some plants were lush and green. Every couple of meters, there was a humanoid figure, except it was wrapped head to toe in a completely clean white cloth.  
“What are those?” Erdan asked, pointing to the figures.  
“Those are the anointed. They are servants. They will do pretty much everything you tell them. They don’t make good conversation though,” Achoris said with a laugh.  
“Is that so? Anyway, thank you.”  
Achoris nodded, then walked out of the courtyard, closing the door behind him.  
“So, I guess this is my home for now”, Erdan said to himself.  
Erdan walked into one of the hallways, the anointed stood still as statues. Erdan continued into what looked like some sort of dining area, which had a dark wooden table. The table had a single chair with an empty wooden bowl. Erdan’s stomach rumbled, He hadn’t eaten anything since he arrived here.  
“I need some food,” Erdan said.  
One of the figures wrapped in white cloth moved from their spot, and walked out of sight. After a few minutes, it returned, holding a wooden plate with some sort of bread on it, the bread being a dark brown and having a very rough texture. Erdan took the plate with the bread and nodded to the wrapped figure  
“Thank you.”  
The figure only bowed, saying nothing, then returned to its original location next to a pedestal with a potted plant, and stood as still as a statue once again. Erdan bit into the bread. It had a really grainy and gritty texture, and there were what seemed to be small bits of dried fruit of some kind, giving it a sweet flavor to it, it was good. Erdan finished the small loaf of bread relatively quickly.  
“That hit the spot,” Erdan said to himself  
The light outside began to dim, sunset. Maybe now people would start to show up in the streets. Erdan exited his gate to find a couple people roaming around the streets, each having an anointed following them. Erdan started to wander when he heard Nicol Bolas in his mind again.  
“Erdan, report to me immediately,” Bolas said.  
The words echoed in Erdan’s mind as he started toward Bolas’s pyramid. As Erdan walked towards it, more and more people appeared on the streets. Some brandishing weapons that took the all too familiar shape of one of Nicol Bolas’s horns, while others wore what looked to be expensive and fine silks. Erdan went into Bolas’s pyramid and through the familiar stone door. He found Bolas sitting in the same place he was before, it was almost like he hadn’t moved an inch.  
“You call--”,  
Before Erdan could finish his sentence, he felt a crushing pain in his head. He couldn’t help but scream in pain. He fell to his knees, clutching his head. Through the pain, Erdan heard Nicol Bolas’ words.  
“Is that anyway to address your master? You will bow before even thinking of speaking to me from now on! Do you understand?” Bolas shouted, the entire pyramid seemed to shake as a result.  
Erdan tried to answer, but before he could even before he could say anything, another wave of pain entered his head, more intense and agonizing than the last.  
“Bow!” Bolas shouted again.  
Erdan was just barely able to bow, as soon as he did, the pain ceased.  
“Good, now you may speak.”  
“Y-you called for me, M-Master Nicol Bolas?” Erdan was barely able to choke out.  
“Yes, I did, I have an assignment for you”  
“What is it that you need me to do?”  
“I need you to go to a plane named Tarkir. You will gather information on it.”  
“As you wish, Master.” Erdan trembled.  
Nicol Bolas reached a massive three clawed hand towards Erdan, touching one of the monstrous claws to Erdan’s forehead. His vision faded to black, only to come back to an image, it was mountainous, barren of any life, and completely frozen over. Erdan heard Nicol Bolas through the vision.  
“Keep the image in your mind, will yourself to that place, It’s easier to travel to planes that you’ve seen before” he said in a calmed manner as he removed his huge claws from the surface of Erdan’s forehead, leaving ever so slight impressions in his head.  
Erdan closed his eyes, keeping the image in his head, seeing the frigid wasteland, trying to will himself to this location that he didn’t know. He suddenly felt weightless, he opened his eyes and saw the thousands of lights, except this time they weren’t flying by, more like gently floating past him. Out of the thousands of lights floating past, one stood out to Erdan, one that glimmered the most brilliant shade of teal and shined brighter than the rest. This had to be the plane that Bolas had told him about, right? Erdan willed himself towards that glowing light. It immediatly grew closer and closer as its light surrounded Erdan.Erdan could suddenly feel solid ground beneath his feet. When the blue light faded, Erdan saw the exact image that Bolas put into his mind. He saw the frigid landscape all around him, he felt it as well. The wind was howling, as if it was yelling in anger. It swept snow around the landscape. The winds picked up, faster and faster, and the crackling of electricity started to fill the air. Erdan looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Erdan saw a swirling mass of clouds that constantly emitted a violent flash of scarlet. There were shadows that moved throughout the clouds every time that there was a flash, the silhouettes could only be described as quadrupedal, bulky, and winged. There were dozens of shadows dancing through the clouds, and it seemed that more were coming from nowhere. The crackling of thunder was accompanied by deafening roaring and snarling. Soon after, the swirling of the clouds started to slow, and the lightning stopped, and Erdan found himself watching several dozen enormous horned dragons flying in place, the beasts were enormous and muscular. The horns that sprouted from the heads were erratic and unpredictable, spiraling in several different ways. Suddenly, they all took off in one direction, flying away from Erdan.  
Erdan stood dumbfounded at what just witnessed. It almost seemed that these beasts formed out of thin air.  
“That’s impossible,” Erdan said to himself  
Erdan hadn’t noticed that the wind ceased with the sudden storm in the sky, he still stood in shock before he remembered why he was there. To collect information on the plane. He had no idea where to go, everything around him was just snow and ice. He had to start going somewhere, he wouldn’t last long in the frigid landscape. Maybe the dragons he just saw flying away would lead somewhere, maybe to certain death, but as of right now, he didn’t have any better options.  
He followed the path that the dragons flew in, trying to see any trace of a possible shelter along the way. Erdan clutched his wool shirt, hopefully it would be enough to help keep him warm.  
The sky started to darken. How long had he been walking? How much further until any shelter? He had no idea, but he knew that he would have to hurry. The air was still, no wind whatsoever as the sky turned a dark blue color. Erdan continued forwards, his hands were feeling numb. He wanted to rest so badly, but he knew it could cost him his life, he had to keep moving.  
Suddenly, Erdan saw something on the horizon, not dead ahead, but he was still walking in its direction. A constant, soft blue light, almost as if that area was daytime. Surely it can’t be natural. Erdan started towards the strange blue light. As he got closer, the noticed that the light came from what appeared to be a deep chasm.  
He approached the edge of the chasm, and what he saw shocked him. He saw a dragon, similar in size and shape to Nicol Bolas, but this dragon, it was light blue, the blue light seemed to be emanating from this beast. Instead of the leathery wings of Bolas, this one had enormous feathered wings that dwarfed even Bolas’s wings in size. The dragon slept in a deep slumber, with breathing just as deep. Erdan marveled at the creature from the edge of the chasm. Erdan felt a somewhat warming presence, it was different from the deathly still silence that surrounded Bolas.  
The beast stirred in its sleep, and as it moved, some sort of mist seemed to follow his movements. The mist slowly spiraled and twisted until it eventually dissipated. The beast opened an eye which glowed a teal color and immediately locked onto Erdan. It spoke, this dragon having a much calmer voice than Bolas.  
“You are not from this world, are you?”  
Erdan could barely come up with the answer “N-no, i’m not.”  
“Interesting… The last time I met another planeswalker was over 1,000 years ago.” the beast smiled. “Fear not, young planeswalker, I do not wish to harm you”  
Erdan let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you…” Erdan said, bowing slightly.  
The dragon nodded back to Erdan. “I’m curious, your home plane, what’s it like?”  
“Well, it was mountainous, and cold. Not as cold as this place though. The sun would rise over the steep mountains.” Erdan said, recalling the monastery.  
“You didn’t live alone did you?” The dragon asked inquisitively.  
“No, I didn’t, I had my Master, and the older monks.”  
“I think I’ve been to the plane you’re talking about. The mountains you mentioned, were they called the Pema mountains?”  
Erdan was shocked by this. “Yes, how did you know?”  
“Like I said, I visited that plane. It would have been several thousands years ago. Long before your time.”  
“What were you doing there?” Erdan asked.  
“Nothing much, just exploring. Now, where else have you been?”  
“Well, I just arrived from a plane that was a giant desert”  
“Tell me more. What was there?” the dragon asked, his expression suddenly becoming serious.  
“An enormous city, I think they called it Naktamun. There were also horns, just like yours, all over the plane. Giant monuments, designs on the sides of pyramids and spires”  
“Amonkhet…” the dragon said under its breath.  
“Excuse me?” Erdan asked, confused.  
“Amonkhet,” the dragon said louder “the plane you were on, does Nicol Bolas reside there?”  
Erdan trembled slightly at the mere mention of his name. “He does…”  
“Did he send you here?” The dragon asked  
“Yes, he did. He told me to gather information on this plane.” Erdan replied with a sombre expression.  
The dragon’s expression became melancholic. “You made a mistake choosing to work for him”  
“I know I did, but I fear that I didn’t really have a choice.”  
“You always have a choice. You could have refused to work for him”  
“All that would do is endanger countless lives”  
“How so?” The dragon asked  
“I can tap into the power of red mana, but I can’t control it. I fear is that i’ll be the cause of hundreds of deaths.”  
“I see. That would make that choice difficult, wouldn’t it?”  
“Yes…”  
“Oh, how rude of me, I didn’t ask you your name.” the dragon said with a slight smile  
“It’s Erdan”  
“Well Erdan, I’m Ugin, the Spirit Dragon”  
Erdan bowed his head slightly. Ugin spoke again “Let me ask you Erdan; you’ve heard of the five different types of mana, correct?”  
Erdan nodded. “Of course I have”  
“There’s a sixth type.”  
Erdan was surprised by this. “A sixth? What is it?” Erdan asked inquisitively.  
“Colorless mana, the essence of creation. I’ve sure you have seen my power at work.”  
Erdan was confused at first, then he remembered back to what he saw several hours ago. The storm that birthed dragons, then dissipated. “That storm, that was you?”  
“It was, It is my magic. but I can’t control it, it just happens.”  
“You can’t?” Erdan asked, completely surprised by this.  
“Not entirely, I can’t control when they happen, but I can control their strength to some extent. I make them as weak as I can.”  
“Why?”  
“Every dragon that breathes fuels an unending battle, a battle for for rule over Tarkir…”  
“Why don’t you leave here then? Move to a different plane?”  
“As long as I live, they will happen here, only I won’t be around to control their power”  
“So there’s no better option…”  
“Unfortunately, yes. If there was a better option, I would resort to that.”  
“I wish I had another option, Bolas is terrifying.”  
“I want to help you Erdan. Bolas is a tyrant. He has committed countless atrocious acts; slaughtering his own brothers for power, dooming entire planes for his own self gain. Not even Amonkhet is safe. If he doesn’t destroy it for a plan, he’ll do it because he’s bored.”  
Erdan just stood silently, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Bolas really this terrible? “All of that is true?” Erdan asked with a little shakiness in his voice  
“It is, every word.”  
“I shouldn’t serve such an awful being.”  
“You’re right, you shouldn’t, but you can’t just stop being a servant to Bolas.”  
“What can I do?”  
“Return to Amonkhet, endure it for now.”  
“And what should I tell Bolas? He sent me to collect information on Tarkir.”  
Ugin raised his serpentine head and thought for a few moments.  
“There’s no use in lying or hiding details from Bolas, he’ll know if you are anyways. It would be best if you didn’t get on his bad side.”  
“We will meet again, right?”  
“It might be a while, but yes. I can almost guarantee it. Good luck, Erdan”  
“Thank you. Goodbye, Ugin”  
Erdan closed his eyes and began to envision the house that Nicol Bolas let him have. He didn’t want to return to that wretched place, but he had to. Who knows what Bolas would do if Erdan didn’t return? Erdan felt that moment of weightlessness before feeling the heat of Amonkhet once again. Erdan opened his eyes and found himself standing in the courtyard of his false home. He heard Bolas’s voice in his mind.  
“Back so soon?”,  
“I am”,  
“Report to me, immediately”.  
“Of course, Master Bolas”.  
Erdan walked out of the fake home and onto the streets, the streets still as empty as ever during the day time. The bright light of the twin suns glimmered off the top of the enormous pyramid that housed his master. He arrived at the entrance of the massive pyramid, only to stop right in the doorway. Erdan felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He had no idea what to expect from Bolas. All he knew was what Ugin told him, that Bolas will know if he’s lying. He walked down the dimly lit corridor, the silence was only momentarily broken by his footsteps hitting the stone floor. As he walked, he began to hear the deep, long breathing of the serpent. The stone door that led into the main chamber came into view. The harsh grinding of stone screeched through the corridor, and Erdan was again met with the blinding light that dissipated as he walked through the doorway.  
There was something wrong with the room, even more wrong than before. Erdan saw it almost immediately upon entering; the lush green plants and trees were not as healthy as before. The leaves and grass were all brown at the edges, they were slowly dying. Erdan heard the smooth voice of Bolas.  
“So...what have you uncovered in your short time there?”, Bolas asked, with a wicked grin curling on his face.  
Erdan’s heart pounded from the inside of his chest, as if it was trying to escape from him. He trembled as he bowed down to the mighty beast, looking down at the floor.  
“There...there were dragons, they seemed to materialize out of thin air.”  
“Is that so?”. Bolas seemed to be holding back a twinge of laughter.  
“Tell me more”.  
Erdan was trembling. The words of Ugin Echoed in his mind.  
“There’s no use in lying”.  
“There was also a large dragon...he knew of you”.  
“Did he give a name?”  
“He...He said his name was Ugin”  
Erdan felt his body tense, he felt every fiber of his being locked in place. He couldn’t think, he could barely even breathe. He didn’t look up, he couldn’t look up. He heard Bolas stir, followed by large footsteps, getting louder and louder. He could feel Bolas walking closer, the normally deathly still air started to feel like it was vibrating, pulsating. Erdan could feel Bolas’s breathing, Erdan slowly and shakingly raised his head, and found him nearly face to face with Bolas.  
“Ugin Lives?”  
“T-t-t-that’s r-r-r-right”, Erdan barely choked out.  
“Well then, I think it’s time I pay my old friend a visit. I value your honesty, but don’t think you’ve earned my trust yet”. Bolas said.  
Bolas backed up, his scales began to glow with a bright golden light. The light continued to get brighter and brighter. Erdan shielded his eyes from the light. The light filled the room, nearly blinding Erdan. As suddenly as the light began intensifying, it started dimming just as quickly. When the light faded, Bolas was nowhere to be seen, leaving no trace behind.  
Erdan’s eyes went wide with fear, His mind was racing, he was panicking. He knew that Bolas went to Tarkir, he could feel that Bolas had ill intentions for Ugin. He tried concentrating on bringing himself to Tarkir. The Image struggled to solidify in his mind. The snowy wasteland kept shifting and warping more and more until it was almost unrecognizable. Erdan’s breathing was really shallow and erratic, he couldn’t concentrate. Erdan slowly began to steady his breathing. He tried to envision the plane he meet the ghost dragon. He pictured the bone chilling winds and blinding white snow.  
The vision of Tarkir became clear in his mind. He was never so relieved to feel the weightlessness that came with traversing planes. The coldness of Tarkir began to bite at Erdan’s flesh as he became grounded in that reality. The sound of titanic roars echoed from above. Erdan looked up and saw the two tremendous dragons, locked in an epic battle high above the snowy landscape. The clouds in the sky swarmed around them, almost opening up like a stage for a grand show. Erdan noticed several familiar flying silhouettes flying among Bolas and Ugin, ones that were bulky and muscular, but even they were dwarfed by the two titans in the epicenter of the whirlwind . White lightning crackled all around them. Each flap of their tremendous wings cleared more snow away from the ground in the epicenter of the fight. The two dragons were tearing into each other’s flesh with their razor sharp claws. Erdan could only watch these two ancient beings collided.  
The fight was nearly evenly matched, Ugin was matching Bolas blow for blow, his lack in size was made up in Ugin’s precision. As the battle raged on Bolas’s raw strength and unrelenting attacks began to overpower the spirit dragon. Ugin’s attacks were beginning to slow and become more clumsy. Bolas swiped at Ugin’s face and eyes, Ugin screeched out as his vision was clawed out of him. Bolas took this opportunity to fly around to the back of the smaller dragon and raked his claws at Ugin’s back and the base of his wings with his claws. Erdan could hear the sound of the flesh being rended, as well as the snapping of enormous bones that echoed throughout the sky..  
With his wings no longer able to keep him in the air, Ugin began to plummet from the sky. The sky seemed to fall away as the great teal dragon’s body accelerated towards the cold stone and ice below with the massive Nicol bolas shining as if he was the sun banishing the cold winter. Ugin’s body slammed into the ground, causing boulders to be ground to dust against the spirit dragon’s scales, and making a crumbling sound that felt as if a mighty mountain had been destroyed. The impact kicked up a huge plume of dust, which Erdan started sprinting to. The titanic size of the two dragons made the impact seem a lot closer than it was, even though Ugin seemed to touch down several dozen meters away, Erdan ran for what felt like miles. running and running through the frigid landscape, occasionally losing his balance on the loose patch of ice until he came to the edge of the great chasm made by the titanic dragon’s body. Ugin’s body bled a deep crimson river from each claw mark made by the huge claws of Nicol Bolas. Erdan slid down the stone walls of the chasm with grace as the sky above him began being filled with a golden light that even outshined the sun. Erdan heard the booming voice of Bolas above him as the light intensified.  
“Your work is done for now, but I will be needing you in the future, Servant” Bolas said with an arrogant sneer.  
The gold light consumed Bolas’ form and faded, showing the empty air where he once was, as if he was never there in the first place. Erdan heard the words of the great horned one, but he did not listen, he didn’t care. He ran across the chasm’s floor, trying to get to Ugin’s head, running past the gargantuan feathered wings that clung to the sides of the chasm. The teal wisps that normally trailed off of Ugin’s body were quickly disappearing into the air, as if they were taking his lifeforce with them. Erdan made it to Ugin’s massive head after minutes of nonstop running. He could hear the extremely slow breaths that the dragon took. Ugin looked at the tiny familiar being that was approaching him. Erdan nearly collapsed from the exhaustion of sprinting for nearly half an hour. His lungs burned as he tried getting a coherent sentence out of his mouth.  
“I’m...I’m sorry. There was nothing I could do. He knew.” Erdan said, completely out of breath.  
The dragon’s half open eye slowly moved to focus on Erdan. He struggled to get any word out of his quickly dying body.  
“Don’t...be....this isn’t...your fault.”  
Erdan laid his hand on the side of Ugin’s face.  
“How can it not be? I led him straight to you.”  
Ugin coughed, forcing some blood to trickle out of the side of his mouth.  
“It was...only a matter...of time…before he found me…”  
“Is there...anything you wish for me to do...before you pass on?”  
Ugin looked back up into the frigid sky above.  
“Just...stay with me…I don’t plan on dying alone”  
Erdan kneeled before the great dragon.  
“I will…”  
Erdan hung his head as the life kept draining out of Ugin. As he started to feel the warmth of the dragon fade, a light blue glow began to come from above. It wasn’t large and grandiose like Bolas, it was soft, and small. Erdan looked up to the source of the soft glow, seeing a small hedron, big enough to fit in his own hand. The small hedron floated above Ugin’s head, the blue glow becoming brighter, which highlighted the intricate runes on each side. The small hedron emitted blue lights from its flat bottom that began mirroring the smaller hedron in its complexity, but extending downwards, making pyramids of glowing blue runes that only got more complex the longer Erdan stared at them. The hedronal lights began extending and growing along the body of Ugin, completely encasing his body with the glowing blue runes. Erdan had been so busy marveling at the sudden apparition of the hedronal lights, that he hadn’t moved. The runes let out a ghostly howl that rang in the air around Erdan, with their glowing intensifying. The spaces between the infinitely intricate runes began to fill in with stone as black and smooth as the night sky. Erdan froze in place as the outside world began to fade, the light that surrounded him became the source of the blindness that soon overcame his field of view. The last thing that traveled through Erdan’s head was the fear of being in the dark again, then everything froze.


End file.
